Saskatoon, Saskatchewan ISS Sighting

Posted: September 30, 2008

Date: September 28, 2008
Time: About 8:10 to 8:30 p.m.

Hi, Brian, I was walking home last night (Sunday, September 28) from about 8:10 to 8:30 and watched this bright light as it came up over the western horizon. From it's speed and brightness, I immediately assumed it to be the ISS, which I have seen many times previously. Last night, the transit was from due west to due east and almost directly overhead. It is fairly consistent in the amount of light it reflects back, although I have seen it change in intensity and colour as it passes overhead, a predictable outcome of the way sunlight will be reflected off its solar panels and other surfaces and the amount of atmosphere the light has to pass through to reach the observer. I was pretty sure at the time that it was the ISS. I checked the time, 8:20 p.m., and confirmed the transit on heavensabove.com when I got home. I did not see any other objects or lights pass over during the time that I was out.

The previous two times I saw the ISS, it was visible from horizon to horizon. It was brightest when it was overhead and was noticeably dimmer near the horizons. Last night, however, was different. Since I was walking westward, I saw it early, so I stopped to watch it while standing on a quiet residential street. As with past sightings, it grew brighter as it approached. As it passed overhead, I turned to watch it continue eastward. A few seconds later, I noticed that it took on a slightly reddish hue and began to fade. It faded much more quickly than previous times I have seen it and seemed to grow more reddish in hue as it did so. It then faded in intensity much more quickly than I have seen previously. A few moments later, I lost it in the haze of light pollution that glares from shopping malls, strip malls and other lighting nearby. At times, I almost thought that it was wavering or slightly zig-zagging as it passed overhead, but I attributed this apparent motion to my unsteady stance. If I braced myself, and observed how it approached and passed stars, I could see that the apparent wavering stopped.

I'm pretty certain it was the ISS and not some unexplained phenomenon. I figure that the dimming of it's intensity and the reddish hue were caused by the way its solar panels reflected and refracted the sunlight striking them.

Thank you to the witness for their report.

Brian Vike, Director HBCC UFO Research and host of the Vike Report UFO Eyewitness radio show. email: hbccufo@telus.net Website: http://www.hbccufo.org http://www.brianvike.com, http://www.hbccufo.com, http://www.hbccufo.net HBCC UFO Research International: http://www.hbccufointernational.org/

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